The Role of Faith Communities in Addressing Substance Use and Crime – Reading List (Part 2)
In this second reading list, we continue exploring the growing evidence on the role and contribution of faith communities and faith-based organisations in addressing substance use and crime, with a particular focus on treatment engagement, recovery, rehabilitation , and criminal justice. While Part 1 highlighted the contribution of faith communities to prevention, community resilience, and violence reduction, this collection examines how spirituality and religiosity may influence help-seeking, substance use outcomes, abstinence , recidivism, and successful reintegration into society.
Faith communities can play an important role across the continuum of care by supporting individuals affected by substance use disorders through spiritual guidance, social support, mentoring, and connections to professional services. Emerging evidence also suggests that religious engagement and faith-based support may contribute to lower levels of substance use, improved recovery outcomes, and reduced offending, particularly when integrated with evidence-based treatment and community reintegration efforts. Together, these resources highlight how faith-informed approaches can complement health, social, and criminal justice systems in promoting recovery, rehabilitation, and community safety.
1. Religion, Crime, and Criminal Justice
This chapter reviews the evidence on the relationship between religion, crime, and the criminal justice system. It highlights a growing body of research demonstrating a consistent inverse association between religiosity and criminal behaviour, suggesting that higher levels of religious involvement are often linked to lower levels of offending. The authors discuss how these findings can inform crime prevention strategies and criminal justice policy, arguing that collaboration between faith communities and justice systems can strengthen prevention efforts and support more effective responses to crime.
2. Faith-Based Intervention: Change in Religiosity and Abstinence Among Individuals with Substance Use Disorders
This study explores the relationship between faith-based interventions, changes in religiosity, and abstinence outcomes among individuals with substance use disorders. The findings suggest that increased spiritual engagement may support recovery motivation, treatment adherence, and sustained abstinence. The study highlights the potential value of integrating faith-informed approaches alongside evidence-backed treatment to strengthen long-term recovery outcomes.
3. Association Between Religiosity and Spirituality and Cocaine Use: A Systematic Review
This systematic review examines the association between religiosity, spirituality, and cocaine use by analysing findings from 20 observational studies involving adolescents and adults. Most studies found that higher levels of religiosity were associated with lower lifetime and current cocaine use, suggesting that religious engagement may serve as a protective factor against substance use. While some studies reported mixed findings, the review concludes that religiosity may contribute to substance use prevention and recommends further longitudinal research to better understand these relationships.
4. Spirituality and Harmful or Hazardous Alcohol and Other Drug Use
This meta-analysis synthesises evidence from 55 longitudinal studies involving more than 540,000 participants to examine the relationship between spirituality and harmful alcohol and other drug use. The findings demonstrate a consistent protective association, with spirituality linked to a 13% reduction in the risk of harmful substance use, increasing to an 18% reduction among individuals regularly participating in spiritual or religious communities. The review concludes that spirituality and engagement with faith communities can make a meaningful contribution to substance use prevention and recovery when incorporated into comprehensive public health and treatment approaches.
5. Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder and Help-Seeking Among Hispanic Communities
This resource explores how cultural values, spirituality, and religious beliefs influence perceptions of alcohol use disorders and help-seeking behaviours among Hispanic communities. It highlights opportunities for faith communities to encourage treatment engagement, provide social support, reduce stigma , and address barriers to accessing care. The resource demonstrates how culturally responsive and faith-informed approaches can strengthen pathways to treatment and recovery.
6. During, After, or Both? Isolating the Effect of Religious Support on Recidivism During Re-entry
This study examines how religious support during incarceration and after release influences substance use and recidivism among people returning to the community. The findings indicate that increased religious support during re-entry is associated with lower levels of substance use, while individuals who experienced both strong religious support during incarceration and continued support after release reported lower levels of criminal offending. These findings highlight the importance of sustained, faith-informed support throughout the reintegration process and suggests that collaboration between faith communities and criminal justice services may contribute to improved recovery and re-entry outcomes.
Key Takeaway
The resources in this reading list demonstrate that faith communities can play an important role across the continuum of substance use prevention, treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, and criminal justice. By providing spiritual guidance, social support, mentoring, and opportunities for community connection, faith-based organisations can strengthen protective factors that promote recovery and successful reintegration. While faith-based approaches are not a substitute for evidence-backed treatment or criminal justice interventions, the growing body of research suggests they can serve as valuable partners in comprehensive, person-centred responses to substance use disorders and crime.
